The first stanza of the poem “ They ask me for verses”, speaks of the time when Jose Rizal was writing this poem. In the first stanza Jose Rizal used a lyre to symbolize his writing; The members of the society requested him to write a poem, even though he doesn’t find it easy to write poems any more, he tried to write and finish what he have started.
During the time he was writing the poem, he can’t find any inspiration to write, he felt very sad that as if he was an outcast or separated from everyone; He feels lonely as if his soul is being squeezed or torn into pieces, that when he will write something it seems that it would turn out a joke out of great sadness; In this great sadness he can’t feel nor express himself well while writing. The first, second and third line of the second stanza talks about his memories from the past that he cherish and longs for.
While the fourth line talks about his happy childhood days and all the friendship he made from the past. He compared it with the fifth line by saying that from his present life those friends are not as much as those from his past. The sixth line means he will always have those memories with him. The seventh and eighth line talks about the festive plays where melodies will always remain in him. The second to the last line with the last line talks about those poetries and melodies from his place that always soar in his mind.
The third stanza of the poem “ They ask me for verses” speaks about the place of origin of the poet who is Rizal and the place where he originated and came from is our very own country, Philippines. The first and second line talks about the persona in the poem which states that in the country where he came from there’s only few who are like him, this interpretation came from the line “ A plant I am, that scarcely grown”, the plant that is scarcely grown refers to the persona.
Though through the succeeding lines which signifies the abandonment of the persona by the land where he was born and where he grew, a land that for him is shed with perfume because this is the land where he is comfortable and free to be doing anything he desires still he can’t forget this land, still in his memory lingers the experiences he had when he was living in the place where he was born. The last part of the stanza signifies this interpretation, according to the persona in the poem he will never forget the birds, the cascades, the shore and the sea which are all part of the land where he originated from.
This symbolizes the different human experiences which became significant to the life of the persona and this is because of the place, the land, the country where he was born and eventually grew-up. Rizal describes himself back in his childhood days. Inside of him, he could sense that he had an urge for adventure. He wanted to travel the world and see its wonders. It was as if he sensed that he was destined to travel from place to place, and he would become well known.
But when everything starts to fade and now it’s gone. It seems like a tree, old and useless. His new beginning for a new life It’s like a brand new song as time passed by it bores and its beauty starts to fade. Exploring and finding a soul from unknown. Changing yourself for the best and believing for destiny knowing the truth would wake you up from reality. That brought him for the best. It revealed to be something that does not exist, but made it really fictional.
In the last stanza of the poem, the persona despairs and is filled with sadness for all of the memories, experiences, stories and things he was able to encounter were all left behind. He can no longer experience the same events and happenings as he did before. It’s like a soul being tortured because all the precious things have gone wasted and it seems he is living a life without the same essence anymore though in this lifeless world, still he considers those memories as an art to be forever cherished not only in his mind but also within his heart and soul.
